The Pepsi Max Crew has bounced back from a tough Clipsal 500 to lock out the front row for tomorrow’s first race at the Formula One Rolex Australian Grand Prix.
Coming into the showcase event, Winterbottom said the blue oval had to perform and gain some confidence – and today he managed to score Ford’s first pole position since the end of 2013.
And he wasn’t the only quick Falcon – Winterbottom topped teammate Chaz Mostert by a mere 0.025sec late in the 30-minute session around the 5.3km street track at Albert Park in Melbourne, with stablemate David Reynolds home in fourth.
“It’s fantastic, the team’s done an incredible job to be one, two, and four,” Winterbottom said, with Reynolds home behind Championship leader James Courtney.
“It’s been an awesome day, we’ve topped every session between me, Chaz and Dave – but I’ve got the right one!
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pole position, so it’s good to be back.”
Fifth in the order was Shane van Gisbergen, with Scott McLaughlin, Fabian Coulthard, Tim Slade, Jamie Whincup and Todd Kelly top 10. Kelly’s appearance means four of the five manufacturers were represented, with the first of the Erebus racers Will Davison in 15th.
Others to note outside the top 10 include Craig Lowndes in 13th and Marcos Ambrose 20th.
Michael Caruso, whose Nissan has been suffering from electrical gremlins today, did not set a competitive lap after spending the majority of the session in the garage.
It was a disappointing result for the #23 driver, who claimed pole here last year.
While the 30-minute qualifying session determines the grid for tomorrow’s first race, races two and three have a progressive grid, and Sunday’s final race will have starting positions determined by combined points for the event.
